French memories
by Mlle-Maple
Summary: French history as remembered by Francis and Nyo!France, starting with Vercingétorix up until nowadays.


Disclaimer: While I do some research before typing this fanfiction, I admit my knowledge on history is limited (I'm only human after all). There might be some small inaccuracies, though I do my best to avoid them.

I also am not a native speaker so there might be some mistakes.

And finally, this talks about history which involves some battles, and thus blood.

* * *

It was the first time the two siblings were face to face, looking at each others with wonder both of them had those long, blond hair that made the Celts famous, yet while their traits looked a lot alike the way they held themselves hinted at a great difference of cultures. The two kids could feel it somehow, they were both a part of something bigger and sort of completed each others; They didn't know what it would be yet but were aware their lives would be linked after this. They were going to live together now, in the Roman Empire.

The young girl, who was soon to represent France along the young boy, lived along the Mediterranean sea, in a town called Massilia; she'd grown here until now, living off commercial exchanges with other countries around the sea. She had enjoyed her life so far really, being independent and following a culture close to the Greeks, being allied to the Romans until now and earning a city status, generally having it nice; She'd recently been annexed as part of the Roman republic and rather enjoyed her status.

The young boy, however, lived far up north, amongst a celtic tribe called the parisii he lived in a city but liked to work in the fields, being rather smart and creating tools that were quite efficient to create good food. He already was a gourmet, creating cheese and wines he enjoyed, something that would stick to him all along his life. He already had a good fashion sense as well, creating colorful fabrics he sold to everyone around the European continent. He'd been free up until now, and fought for things to stay this way up until his leader fell.

And here he had been,, listening to this great man he was tall, imposing, almost scary to him he'd definitely be scary if he hadn't been on his looked like a ray of hope the kid may be young and looked to be only about five years old but he already had a few centuries under his belt and wasn't so naive. He knew that while the Roman republic wasn't threatening at first, this Julius Caesar man wasn't really a friend. He'd sent them presents, telling them they were friends, but it wasn't really true. They knew he simply wanted to expand his territories. And here was a leader who tried to make them stronger by bringing them all together, him and other tribes that recognized them as a sort of symbol as well.

The man was a good orator, having the child captivated just as much as the Celt warriors he had quite a strong will to unit all those different tribes against the Romans. Once he was done getting the men riled up and ready to defend their freedom, he walked toward the kid, ruffling his hair and telling him to go hide as he was definitely not fit to fight he knew what Rome was like, a big, strong man that could crush the child in a second it was better to avoid him that. He'd already been in a few wars, but generally was protected by the generals as he still was a tiny kid.

He was inside the walls of Gergovie, hiding in a small house alone, hiding his face in his arms as he could hear the noise of spears against shields, metal hitting metal, the smell of blood and the screams of the men as they fought surrounding them. It was an oppressing atmosphere, he didn't know what would happen if they lost The young boy only knew how freedom and was rather scared of this new culture that might be forced upon him. His heart was beating fast, he could hear it too as he pressed his hands on his ears; it was odd how the thumping of his heart sort of muffled out and dulled out the noise.

Eventually the noise of the battle vanished to be replaced by an even more oppressing silence he didn't know what happened, it was over now, but his fate still wasn't settled, not until Vercingetorix came to get him. He heard footstep come closer, shutting his eyes tight and curling up more, terrified of the outcome of this battle, when he was scooped up in strong arms, pulled against a man's chest and feeling the characteristic long mustache tickle his face as he looked up in fear to see an enemy; it was his leader. He wrapped his tiny arms around him, ignoring the smell of blood surrounding the man, clinging to him with all his might. He'd been saved, at least for now.

"How did it go...?" His voice was muffled by the clothes as he refused to move his head, still holding on the man.

"It went well. Don't worry. I'll protect you with all I have."

His leader's words touched him as he looked up at him, his admiration for him only growing. He would follow him with his eyes closed, even in a battle as terrifying as this one; he'd do everything he asked of him.

A little time passed, his sister doing her best to help Rome; Julius Caesar used her lands as a base, it was the best starting point to get to her brother. She was under his control and as such sort of had to do it; beside she didn't really know her brother, not yet, and if the conquest went well... He'd become as civilised as her and they could be friends, it was for his best.

She herself had made that choice a small while ago. She'd been under constant attack from the Salyans, who kept on harassing her, and she'd needed help as she wasn't a very good warrior herself; Rome had come and never left. Given the surrounding area had been beaten earlier on, and she didn't mind as their culture were close, she let it be, accepting it as her fate.

Beside she'd heard what was said about the other people in Gaul, those barbarians with no education; she knew they went to war naked, screaming like some beasts. She'd heard how they cut people's head after the battles to exhibit them in front of their place or show them off. She also knew they raided Rome before, which was still now considered a disaster. Vae Victis, as Brennus had said; words that still now were remembered by the Romans, and terrified them. She knew they'd resisted and only were saved one night by a few geese who wouldn't shut up at the intruder. That man who came and pillaged Rome back in 390 BC. Barbarians, all of them.

Of course the young boy's life wasn't like that; sure, he did see men go to war naked, and they did shout to give themselves some sort of courage; it was efficient, their enemies were scared of it. He himself went once but quickly was sent back home, children didn't fight after all. He enjoyed the whole nakedness thing though, something he didn't know would stick to him like that. His daily life was mainly made of finding out new fashion styles, often making very sturdy pants with nice stripe designs. He also studied with the druids, learning quite a lot with them; all his knowledge had been transmitted to him via voice, as they believed writing it down made your brain lazy; he knew everything there was to know about herbal plants, generally having a rather happy childhood.

But of course all of this was threatened by Julius Caesar. It wasn't long before he attacked again, though he faced quite a good strategy; so far from home, it was hard for him to get food for his soldiers. And there was no way they would be allowed to get the young boy's products. He honestly was impressed at the fire that destroyed the cities, fields, forests...Everything and anything the Romans might have needed. It was an odd feeling, both of despair at seeing everything destroyed, and of power as it was something he could control to keep the Romans away; by leaving all those meaningless earthy possessions behind he really was free, and his people lived on.

However in July, 52BC,after a defeat in a new battle against the Romans, Vercingetorix took him inside Alesia. It was a nice fort, but they both were aware the Romans were good at keeping you inside walls to starve. He could only watch, feeling useless, as they dug three rows of trenches; they put some hardened wooden spears in there, deadly to anyone who might want to come over to help or try to escape. They were caught, trapped, and it would last for about two months.

After a while Vercingetorix called him over; he looked serious,tired. They were running out of everything they needed, and it was wearing him off. The young boy looked up at him, worried. He himself didn't feel it too much as he wasn't only representative of the fort, though he did have a constant feeling of dread lately.

"You wanted to see me...?" He stepped closer, looking up at him more; someday he hoped to be as tall and strong as the man in front of him.

"I did. I made a decision. You're leaving with the others." The man obviously didn't like when people didn't listen to his orders.

"What others? What is going on?" The boy looked at him, worry obvious on his face. The older man sighed before ruffling his hair.

"We're sending the children, women and older people out, in hope the Romans will have mercy."

This was new, not something they'd done before; it was obvious they were losing now.

"But if I go, you'll lose."

Vercingetorix gave a small nod, picking the boy up; they were close by now, their fate linked, and got along well, sort of like siblings; The Gaul was still quite young and had taken a liking in this odd kid.

"Not if they don't know it's you. We'll protect you by sending you out along with all the other children, and since they don't know about you yet, you'll have a chance to escape to rally the others."

The young boy knew they were meant to be rescued sometime soon but it was lasting and took forever; since he couldn't die, it was a smart idea to send him to ask for help. But then it was also risky, as the Romans might find out who he was; they'd be lost if it happened.

"I'll do it then..."

He hugged onto the older man a little more before being put back on his feet, walking out and gathering a few of his belongings; he had the clothes on his back and a smaller sword made for him in case he needed to fight, courtesy of the man he'd just left. He made sure he had it well on him before joining the group that formed by the gates, glancing behind one last time to give a small wave at his leader before bravely walking out. He didn't know this had been the last time he talked to him; he also didn't know what hell awaited him after he walked out.

The Romans didn't show any mercy; they pushed them back toward the gates that remained closed, cutting out any sort of escape. Those who didn't fall in the many traps died starving, and soon enough the child was the only one standing, feeling this massacre of sort; it hurt him. This was what gave him away.

Everything went very fast after that; a young girl, about his age and strangely resembling him, walked toward him, pointing him out with insistence to a general of sort. Their first time seeing each others, despite being siblings. She grabbed his hands, smiling happily at him.

"So you're here! I'm so glad to meet you. We're going to make sure you're not a barbarian anymore and educate you well!"

She looked so happy, while he looked rather horrified; he wasn't some uneducated prick, she was, the Romans were the crazy ones trying to impose their dictature over them. He took his hands back, though he was lifted by the general and carried back in the camp; he was left alone with the girl again, staring at her.

"Who are you?"

She smiled at him again, shifting those odd clothes she had wrapped around herself on her shoulder.

"I'm your sister. They call me Gallia narbonensis. They said you were Gallia Celtica, so we're the same thing pretty much!"

The young boy, now newly named Gallia Celtica, kept on staring at her with a dumbfounded face. She couldn't be for real, if they were the same then she'd follow him back to Alesia to help Vercingetorix get out. He pulled on her hands to try and get out of the tent, silently.

"What are you doing?"

"If we're the same then we have to go back in the fort and fight against the invaders."

She dug her heels in then, pulling him back in, surprisingly strong; she was as strong as him, if not more, probably influenced by the fact his side was losing and currently starving in a fort.

"Of course not! Just follow me, will you?"

With that she pulled him up a small hill not far, giving a good view of the battle; next to her were two other people who looked like them. A tall, blond man with a braid who looked sort of scary to the little boy, and another just as tall but nicer looking man who had a more tanned skin and wore an armor that made him think he was a sort of God, perhaps a god of war...? The man ruffled his hair a bit, in a friendly way, before looking back in front of him. The little girl pulled on his sleeve to point at the view.

"Just look. We're going to win."

The fort of Alesia was opening up as some small army threw themselves at the fort, taking the roman's legions in between them. He looked horrified as his people died, falling in the traps; even though they were starting to win, there were no chances as he saw what he could only assume to be the blond man's troops; riding on horses, they put an end to the battle quickly.

All he could see was his people's fall, assuming he'd fall with them as he started to cry silently, shaking a little; his fist were closed tightly as he tried not to make noise, retaining as much dignity as he could as he saw what felt like more than just the end of a battle, the end of an era for him. He knew his freedom was gone now, all he'd fought for alongside Vercingétorix... He stayed silent the entire time, pushing the girl away in all her attempts to talk to him or hug him, simply staying curled up in a corner of the tent he'd been brought back in.

The worse was to come humiliation wise; later on this evening, as Julius Caesar talked to some generals, he had to see his beloved leader kneel down in front of him, throwing his weapons at his feet, and take his hands to beg for his life. They definitely were beaten. It felt odd to see this tall, strong man, who had been so good at giving everyone hope, who had made him feel strong and proud of his people, kneeling down in defeat. He wanted to run to him and hug him, telling him to stand up and slay that man right there, but he was held back by a heavy hand on his shoulder; The man whom he'd learned was the Roman republic was leaning on him slightly, but it felt like a very symbolic weight as he now more or less belonged to him.

"I'll take care of you."

The boy didn't answer that, staying silent once more, refusing to give him anything yet, even defeated.

* * *

Francis was sitting in his living room, holding a small, old and rusting knife in hand, running a finger along the rough edge; it wouldn't cut anymore, not that it had ever been really sharp... It was a beautiful piece of work, one that proved his people already was quite talented about twenty-five centuries ago. He looked up when he heard a voice, taken out of his memories, watching the pretty woman who lived with him as she came to sit with him.

"Brother dearest, you should really avoid looking back on past times like that, it always get you depressed."

She shifted to wrap her arms around him, giving him a small peck to the cheek before looking at what had been a gift to him from Vercingetorix. She knew he'd been really important to him, even if she herself had barely known him.

The man smiled at her a little, putting the object back in its box carefully before snuggling against her a little,enjoying the hugs; being an adult didn't mean you couldn't enjoy cuddling with your siblings.

"You were an awful sister at times."

"I know, but you're not much better if you asked me..."

They both were smiling though; they managed to get over their problems and got along well nowadays, like any normal siblings.

* * *

Place/Dates/important name:

-Massilia: currently Marseille, town founded by phocaean in 600 BC. It was part of Gaul, its transalpine part, called Gallia narbonensis by the Romans.

-Lutetia: Currently supposedly Paris; its exact location is still being discussed, but we know it was along the Seine, and the latin parts of it when it evolved during the gallo-roman era are still present nowadays.

-Parisii: tribe that gave its name to Paris, a rather influent celt one living around Lutetia.

-Gergovie/Alesia: two great battles in the conquest of Gaul; their exact location isn't known. Gergovie is meant to be close to current days' clermont-ferrand. Alesia's location isn't agreed on.

-600BC: Founding of Massilia

-(approximatively)300BC: founding of Lutetia

-58-51BC: conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar (he himself wrote an account of it.)

-52BC: Battle of gergovie

-Vercingetorix: A man who united a lot of tribes to resist against the expansion of Rome; nowadays still a big symbol in France.

-Vae Victis: It can be translated to something like "sucks to be the loser". It means something like the losers in a battle shut up and accept the winner's rules.


End file.
